Hi all and welcome to The Sojourn. The post will deal with the text up to the time when the company leaves Beorn's house.

Bilbo wakes up late to find that Gandalf, as well as Beorn, is “out and about somewhere”. Apart from breakfast nothing much seems to happen until Gandalf returns in the evening. Gandalf has already reported that Beorn does not eat his domestic animals and that he does not “hunt or eat wild animals”. So Beorn is vegetarian and the meals in his house are vegetarian ones. In fact we have been told that Beorn “lives most on cream and honey”. Was the breakfast menu the same as the previous evening meal? Tolkien often tells us the menu for meals eaten by his characters, as with the, decidedly non vegetarian, meals with the eagles. Why has he not done so here?

When Gandalf returns he insists on supper and this time we are told what he eats: Bread, butter, honey and cream. All as expected but there is no mention of any fruit or veg. How nutritious is Beorn's diet?

Gandalf has been tracking Beorn who is in bear form and heading for the mountains. He had a sort of Bearmoot the previous night and seems to have another on the next one. What do they discuss? They all go their separate ways after the moots and we hear no more about them. Bilbo thinks that Beorn has gone to fetch the Wargs and goblins to kill them and Gandalf is so cross that he sends Bilbo to bed, but not without his supper I hope. Is Gandalf justified? I think that Bilbo, naïve though he still is, should have realised by now that Beorn is on their side. What do you think?

The next morning Beorn returns in a fine mood as he has established the truth of their tale. He had caught a goblin and a Warg in the woods and interrogated them. What form did this interrogation take? I hope he was gentle with them but I fear not because he shows them the goblin's head outside the gate and the Warg's skin nailed to a tree. Is this savagery or just the only sensible way to deal with such creatures? Just in passing: Why do Wargs get a capital letter while goblins do not?

After lunch the party leave Beorn's house and head towards Mirkwood but not before Beorn has given them provisions for the journey and some good advice. He also lends them ponies to ride as far as the entrance to Mirkwood. Beorn is now their ally and I, for one, would not welcome him as an enemy. Is Beorn a good guy? A bad guy? A conflicted anti hero? Or what? Beorn advises them to take a different route through Mirkwood from the one they had planned and outlines some of the difficulties they may come across. He mentions “straying from the path” through Mirkwood and says: “This you MUST NOT do, for any reason. Oh dear! They are absolutely going to do that aren't they?

Finally I want raise the theory about Beorn's nature, that I mentioned in my previous post, to see what people think about it. Those with long memories may recall that I have mentioned it before and I apologise if I seem needlessly repetitious. The theory is put forward by Susan Hancock in an article entitled “Fantasy, Psychology and Feminism: Jungian Readings of Classic British Fantasy Fiction”. I found it in a book called “modern children's literature an introduction” edited by kimberley reynolds. Don't ask me why there is no upper case. I'm just the messenger. The book is published by Palgrave Macmillan, at least in the UK.

Hancock compares The Hobbit with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and comes to the perhaps surprising conclusion that The Hobbit is by far the more feminist of the stories despite its lack of female characters. Perhaps even more surprising is her use of Beorn to support her case. I will offer some quotes although they will probably not do justice to the whole. She writes: “Beorn offers a goal to the individuating psyche in the Hobbit in that ideas of masculinity and femininity are drawn close together in this powerful and ambivalent figure.” again: “Beorn is portrayed as being, simultaneously a gentle and a warlike figure” and finally: “Beorn is presented as a metaphorical representation of a union of opposites, offering, as governing archetype, a godlike self that is capable of uniting the ideas of fighting, strength and violence, with loving, caring and nurturing, joining together roles more traditionally and stereotypically assigned to separated masculine and feminine spheres at the time of his creation.”

If I interpret the Jungian vocabulary correctly I think she is saying that while Beorn is extremely masculine in some matters he is also extremely feminine in others. That he endorses female attributes as well as male ones. I'm still not sure that I buy into this entirely but the longer I reflect on the idea the more persuasive I find it. Thoughts on any or all of that would be more than welcome.

Was the breakfast menu the same as the previous evening meal? I hope not! At least it should be fresh.Why has he not done so here?This is necessary for the suspension of disbelief.Just where does Beorn get all the protein he needs from? Nuts?In short, it's better not to tell.

How nutritious is Beorn's diet?It is full of nuts. In the season.

What do they discuss? On the first night, he probably told the bears the Dwarves' names, and they have decided after a long debate that they were not orcs.

Is Gandalf justified? He is afraid one of the ponies might overhear.

What do you think?Well, Gandalf is right - Bilbo is sleepy, and his wits are a bit clouded.

What form did this interrogation take?The trick about interrogation is not to use more force than necessary. Is this savagery or just the only sensible way to deal with such creatures? It would be the height of folly to let them go, and Beorn has no prison.

But don't kid yourself that he was gentle. If Aragorn and Gandalf tortured Gollum, I don't think Beorn was any more gentle; and he needed the information quickly.

Why do Wargs get a capital letter while goblins do not?Good question! Is it really consistent?

Is Beorn a good guy? A bad guy? Dpends on whether he is on your side or not. A conflicted anti hero? Definitely not that! Or what?A force of nature.

Oh dear! They are absolutely going to do that aren't they?Well, they did not stray out of Beorn's Hall after dark - so there is hope.

In Reply To

Hancock compares The Hobbit with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and comes to the perhaps surprising conclusion that The Hobbit is by far the more feminist of the stories despite its lack of female characters.

Okay. Maybe because of it.

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Beorn offers a goal to the individuating psyche in the Hobbit in that ideas of masculinity and femininity are drawn close together in this powerful and ambivalent figure.

This doesn't mean much, as yet.

In Reply To

Beorn is portrayed as being, simultaneously a gentle and a warlike figure.

Where does she see gentleness? If anything, his lack of manners youve commented upon before represents the classical soldier type of unbridled masculanity.

Caring for his underlings? Picking up Thorin in the midst of the battle? Bah! Rambo would do the same, had he only kept his sanity.

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Beorn is presented as a metaphorical representation of a union of opposites, offering, as governing archetype, a godlike self that is capable of uniting the ideas of fighting, strength and violence, with loving, caring and nurturing, joining together roles more traditionally and stereotypically assigned to separated masculine and feminine spheres at the time of his creation.

Without specific examples, these are just empty words. I expect Hancock does make a connected argument, but I find it hard to make one for myself, and the quotes you bring are too general fo me.

Thoughts on any or all of that would be more than welcome.So far, it doesn't ring true to me. Perhaps if I read the whole essay, it would make more sense."When light finally begins to come into our lives after a long darkness, only to reveal that one has still farther to go, what various ways might one react?" - Dreamdeer

The weekly discussion of The Hobbit is back. Join us in the Reading Room for a somewhat less clever discussion of Flies and Spiders!

Considering that most bears, particularly black ones, include a variety of tree shoots, grasses, nuts, berries, tubers, insects, and fish in their diet, along with honey whenever they can get it, it does seem odd that Beorn would not have had a more varied table!

I wonder how regularly Beorn holds a meeting with the area bears. Perhaps the activity of the wargs and goblins has caused them to come to him for advice - and that, along with the story from his guests, sends him on his late-night trek. Or maybe it was he who summoned them, to discuss whether the story were true?

Our poor Mr. Baggins has just had the most frightful experiences with goblins and Gollum and Eagles and Wargs, it's not surprising that this hobbit who has never before been over the Edge of the Wild cannot bring himself to trust any new creatures he encounters here.

I can imagine Beorn scooping up a goblin in one massive paw, and a Warg in the other, not gently at all no precious, and treating them to the "tickle" of an ursine claw as he extracts information from them - then puts them quickly out of their misery.

Wargs with a capital "W"? What is disturbing is that "hobbits" are not spelled with a capital "H"!

Beorn is neither "good" nor "bad", he knows only what kinds of creatures he hates - any that would harm his personal critters, or those of his own kind (Men or Bears). As for the "feminine" side, I'm not sure what that study is hinting at, some "concrete evidence" is needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"

"It struck me last night that you might write a fearfully good romantic drama, with as much of the 'supernatural' as you cared to introduce. Have you ever thought of it?" -Geoffrey B. Smith, letter to JRR Tolkien, 1915

At first, I wasn't sure I could be convinced TH had any bit of femininity once-soever but the idea that Beorn representing both masculinity and femininity does make a lot of sense when explained in that manner. It makes Beorn seem like the wise yin-yang character I always felt him to be. He IS more than he appears. Don't be hasty.